美 비건 부장관 한국 도착…한미 현안•한반도 정세 논의

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Stephen Biegun, arrived in South Korea just a few hours ago,... for talks with top officials here on topics including North Korea.
What draws attention is whether he has brought any message to send to the North, despite Pyeongyang's firm stance that it won't be talking with Washington.
Hong Yoo files us this report from Seoul's foreign ministry.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun arrived at Osan Air Base in Gyeonggi-do province on Tuesday afternoon.
He will be staying in Seoul for three days and is expected to discuss issues related to the Korean peninsula and the possibility of resuming talks with Pyeongyang.
On the second day of his visit, Biegun will sit down for talks with Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and later with the first vice foreign minister Cho Sei-young to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues.
Biegun will also meet the special representative for Korean Peninsula peace and security affairs Lee Do-hoon to discuss denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
On the last day, he is expected to visit the Blue House to meet top officials that have recently been appointed to diplomacy and security positions.
The U.S. State Department said Monday that through this visit, Biegun will strengthen the mediation process for a final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea.
But all eyes are on whether Biegun has brought a message for the North.
Last time he was here, he had offered a summit between North Korea and the U.S., an offer that was not answered by the regime.
Just hours before he arrived this time, North Korea rejected the possibility of talks with the U.S.
North Korea's foreign ministry director-general Kwon Jong-gun said in a statement that the regime is not willing to sit across from Americans... and that the North's First Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui had made their stance clear last Saturday.
Hong Yoo, Arirang News.